Business & Economics
Solvay mulls construction of epichlorohydrin production plant in China
Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) is studying the construction of an epichlorohydrin production plant in Taixing, China, with an initial capacity of 100,000 ton/yr. The plant, which is expected to start producing in 2013, will be based on Solvay's innovative…
Dynasol to produce and sell rubber in China
Dynasol, a subsidiary of Repsol (www.repsol.com) and the Kuo Group, has signed an agreement with China’s Shanxi Northern Xing’an Chemical Industry (Xing’an) to produce and market rubber in China. The two companies are to set up a joint company which…
Fluor named project management consultant for new refinery in Turkey
Fluor Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.fluor.com) announced today that Socar & Turcas Rafineri A.S. (Stras; www.socarturcas.com.tr), the joint venture of the State Oil Co. of the Azerbaijan Republic (Socar) and Turcas Petrol A.S. (ISE:TRCAS), awarded the firm a project management consultant…
DOE: $30 million for next-generation biofuels R&D
U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced the Dept. of Energy (Washington, D.C.; www.energy.gov) is now accepting applications for up to $30 million in total funding for small-scale process integration projects that support the development of advanced biofuels that…
Evonik plans capacity expansion in isophorones
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) intends to construct a new production plant for isophorone and isophorone diamine. A suitable site is being sought, and economic and strategic market factors play an important role in this decision. Production is scheduled…
Yule Catto to purchase PolymerLatex
Yule Catto & Co. plc (Harlow, U.K.; www.yulecatto.com) has agreed to acquire PolymerLatex GmbH (Marl, Germany; www.polymer-latex.de) from TowerBrook Capital Partners. The transaction, which is subject to the necessary regulatory and shareholder approvals, is expected to be completed during Q2,…
Sartorius extends portfolio for process analytics
Sartorius AG (Göttingen, Germany; www.sartorius.com) has signed a cooperation agreement with NIR-Online GmbH (Walldorf, Germany; www.nir-online.de), which specializes in near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy systems for quality assurance and process optimization. Under this agreement, Sartorius secures marketing, distribution and service rights…
FWC: Contract for two grassroots refineries in Brazil
Foster Wheeler AG (FWC; Zug, Switzerland; www.fwc.com) announced today that its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded a basic engineering design and front-end engineering design (FEED) contract for two grassroots petroleum refineries in Brazil for Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., (Petrobras).…
Global chemical industry production shows moderated expansion, ACC says
Global chemical industry production grew by 0.3% in October, according to data from the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (CPRI). The pace of growth is slower than earlier in the year, but on…
Shaw: Contract for new ethylene plant in India
The Shaw Group Inc. (Baton Rouge, La.; www.shawgrp.com) it has been selected by GAIL (India) Ltd (GAIL) to provide its proprietary technology and basic engineering for a new 450,000-ton/yr ethylene plant. Shaw also will provide support during detailed engineering, procurement…